Trump Campaign Faces Temporary Ban from Twitter Due to COVID-19 Misinformation
President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign fired back at Twitter and other social networks after facing a temporary ban on Twitter due to misinformation posted about the coronavirus.
On Wednesday, Twitter penalized the Trump campaign as it insisted the tweet “is in violation of the Twitter Rules on COVID-19 misinformation.”
The controversial tweet included a clip from Trump’s recent appearance on Fox News where he falsely claimed children “almost immune” from the virus.
When Twitter spokesperson Liz Kelley released a statement to The Washington Post she confirmed the campaign’s continued use of the account would be contingent on them removing the tweet.
“The account owner will be required to remove the tweet before they can tweet again,” Kelley said.
The Trump campaign ultimately removed the tweet but not without firing back at Twitter for its decision. In a statement to The Hill, Courtney Parella, deputy national press secretary for the Trump campaign, alluded to the possibility of a conflict in interest given Kelley’s previous work history.
“The Twitter employee who explained why our account was suspended is also [Sen.] Kamala Harris’s [D-Calif.] former press secretary,” the statement read.
Tim Murtaugh, director of communications for the Trump campaign, also tweeted similar sentiments about Kelley’s previous affiliation with Harris.
The Twitter employee who announced to the world why the @TeamTrump account was briefly suspended is also Kamala Harris’s former press secretary.
Silicon Valley is hopelessly biased against the President and only enforces the rules in one direction.
— Tim Murtaugh (@TimMurtaugh) August 6, 2020
While the campaign’s Twitter account is back up, reactions to the ban still linger. Trump supporters have expressed disapproval of Twitter’s decision but others insist the campaign page should be monitored if disinformation is being shared.
See some of the reactions below:
Your account tweeted false information about COVID-19. If this were about politics you would have a point.
— Andrew Brackin (@brackin) August 6, 2020
Thank you @Twitter for helping to ensure that Americans are given accurate information about the election and COVID-19. It’s sad that the president lies and misleads us every damn day.
— Kathryn McGuire (@Madonna2125) August 6, 2020
https://twitter.com/rodsandguitars/status/1291338724404600835
The Trump campaign’s clash with Twitter comes amid its clashing with a number of other social media networks. Facebook and YouTube both opted to remove the same video citing violations similar to Twitter.
However, the campaign has also pushed back against Facebook, accusing Silicon Valley of “flagrant bias against this President.”
“The President was stating a fact that children are less susceptible to the coronavirus,” Parella said in a statement. “Another day, another display of Silicon Valley’s flagrant bias against this President, where the rules are only enforced in one direction. Social media companies are not the arbiters of truth.”
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